Middle East

One of God’s promise verses that we have claimed is Genesis 28:15b, where God spoke to Jacob in Bethel. “I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” This verse tells us that the purpose of our life is about God from the start to the end. He gives us a promise. He carries it out. And He stays with us. What a wonderful verse it is! Then, we started wondering what God promised us. He did not explicitly tell us what the promise was but just called us, “Follow Me.” Thus, following Him has been our journey to discover His promise for us.

It was 19 July 1996 when we arrived in Istanbul, Turkey (Türkiye). After a language learning period of 2 years, I started teaching full-time at the mechanical engineering department of a state university. I was also appointed an Istanbul team leader in our organization. Our church planting endeavor started in 1999 with a local leader. We sensed an indefinite calling to Turkey and applied for Turkish citizenship, which was granted to us in 2005. Then, I moved to a private university where I have taught since 2006. I find myself excited about teaching students and conducting research.

Several years later, we joined another church planting effort at the center of a very conservative area of Istanbul. We enjoy serving Turkish church, drinking tea with church members at their houses on Friday nights, leading a discipleship training course, and sharing Jesus with Turks.

At the beginning of our journey, we saw Jesus walking on the water. At His calling, “come,” we got off the boat of our comfort zone and started walking on the water, experiencing His power that supported us above the water from below. We are still discovering where He is leading us next. We pray that one day we will be able to say “It is finished” and worship Him who is our Lord.

Prayer topics

• For many young people who are seeking the truth while living under the fear of Islam
• For the Turkish church to stand up to share the Good News boldly
• For Turkish leaders and believers to be protected from various temptations
• For us to follow Him faithfully as He leads us to His promise step by step